89 Mandalay Mee-Shay

The word Mee shay is derived from a Yunnanese (Chinese) word Mi xian [米線] for rice noodles. Yunnan province is the first province of China across the Sino-Burmese border. The Burmans adopted the word in Mandalay, the city of the last Burmese kingdom, some hundred years ago.

Mandalayans seemed to have modified the original Mi Xian's recipe to their taste and liking. Medium gauge rice noodles are used for Mandalay Mee Shay, added with thick rice flour gloop and dressed with salted and fermented soybeans and chilli oil, and garnished with blanched bean sprouts, pickled mustard greens called Xian Cai (pron. hsien tsai, 酸菜), fried batter, shreds of boiled pork belly, crushed garlic and Chinese parsley.

The founder of the 89 Mandalay Mee Shay, a Mandalayan, learned the recipe from his late Mandalayan mother who had replaced the original fried batter with fried pork belly in batter.

In Rangoon, there had been many shops selling so-called Mandalay Mee-Shay since 1960's but because of wrong ingredients, none had an authentic taste of Mandalay Mee Shay until the 89 came into existence on 5 February 2017. Whenever the founder, a gourmet, having lived in Rangoon for more than four decades missed the authentic Mandalay Mee Shay, he himself had to prepare the meal and invited friends to share the taste.

Finally he decided to share the gustatory pleasure with the general public and set up the weekend restaurant for breakfast, brunch and lunch..